Days of Darkness
by Hoshiro Kamui 217
Summary: Minato didn't want to be trapped in the Great Seal forever. And so, with the Night Queen herself, he struck a deal. Show her what life is really about, and she won't destroy the world. But with her inexperience and the trouble lurking about, this isn't going to be as easy as he makes it out to be. Good lord, what in Tartarus has he done?
1. The Personification Of Night, Nyx

My eyes fluttered open to a sea of blackness, inky, brightly coloured pigments thrown across said ebony canvas, twinkling stars and rolling dust. My ears were open to some horrifyingly loud sounds, that of hungry roars and rumbling in the distance. Trying to move my arms around, I felt some sharp pains shoot through them and looking at them it was no surprise why. My arms were bound to the stone behind me: the seal I had formed.

Yay. I'm at the Great Seal. How awesome.

With giant glowy-egg thing at the back.

"I am no giant glowy-egg thing…" I heard an irritated female voice drawl from behind. From what I can tell whoever this was obviously a girl from that voice, and there was only one likely explanation to who it was since I couldn't sense anything but her and Erebus. Wait, did she just call me a 'twit?'

"Yes I did," She drawled on. "Do you not understand Japanese, Fool?"

Why do I think that 'Fool' in that sentence was more used as an insult instead of referring to my Arcana?

"Because I did use it like that," She replied simply, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I suppose you aren't as dumb as the rest of you humans…"

"Hey, I resent that," I replied indignantly.

"I can see that," She replied sarcastically.

"Are you going to stop with the insults, Nyx?" I sighed, knowing that this was probably going to be a big…

"No," She replied quickly, and all too quickly. "It is amusing, seeing you react to my more scathing remarks. Now, please get used to it quickly, it's something you're going to be dealing with for the rest of eternity," She sighed with a sing-song voice.

I bit my lip slightly. She was reminding me of the fact that without getting out, I wouldn't be able to see my friends again. Now I really wanted out… If she keeps on doing this, there's no doubt I'M going to be the one contributing to humanity's collective negative thoughts.

I sighed softly so that she couldn't hear and started to try my escape. "Okay fine."

"What is it?" Nyx replied.

I breathed out in preparation for my question and… "Look, I want out of here."

Silence permeated the conversation before she replied. She actually had to think about this? "Why should I help you?" Nyx asked bluntly.

"Well…" If I could rub the back of my head right now, that is what I would be doing.

_A few hours later…_

Not a sound was filling the spaces, except for the occasional roar and the overall blowing of winds once I had finished.

"What the hell has this 'relativity theory' got to do with me helping you get out and do whatever the heck you want?" Nyx was probably deadpanning at me right now. I could feel that glare from my back…

"Look, all I'm saying is that I want to go back to my world and that if you do this you can go free as well, and hopefully with one hundred per cent less destroying the world." I explained in as short a form as possible.

"Interesting… but you know that the only reason I was doing that was because the people of your world wished for it," Nyx sighed with an exasperated tone.

"But there are a lot of people who don't want the world to end as well." I retorted.

"Is that right?" She asked with a condescending tone, though it didn't sound as if she was saying a complete no.

"Yes, there are a lot of people who don't want the world to end. Or have you not heard of those people either?" I replied, with a helping of sarcasm on the side.

"Can you prove it?"

I blinked once or twice at her words. Did… is she actually giving me a chance?

"Yes, prove me wrong, Fool," It almost felt like she was sneering at me. As if I had no chance whatsoever.

"Well… you're locked up here." I answered, referring to the seal that I had made using the Universe Arcana. It was probably the third or fourth time that a shroud of quiet had filled our conversation. If it could be called that.

"I made this seal with the power of my friend's bonds and love." I explained further.

"Hm… Interesting," She mumbled to herself. Huh? She sounded so much different just then. Nyx's demeanour just screamed the fact that she was extremely nonchalant and confident, as if she knew absolutely everything. But that tone she used earlier was a huge contrast to her earlier one, seemingly more childish than usual.

"Alright, I'll give you a year… Maybe what you're saying is actually true…" She conceded with a quieter tone than normal. "I can stave off Erebus for a while if I want to while you do that."

"Thank Thanatos…" I whispered to myself. "Thank you."

"Yes, yes… Now can you just get ready?" She sighed.

Not too long after she had agreed a star-like light blinded my vision and a scent filled my nose that only reminded me of one thing. "Home…"

An exasperated sigh came from beside me, and it sounded very familiar. Whoa. She was…

"What are you gawking at Fool?" She deadpanned.

Wow. Who knew Nyx could be so… beautiful?

AN: Yes, I'm doing this. What am I doing...?

* * *

Anyways, backburner fic which means... probably won't be updated for a loooong time. I definitely will later though...

Tell me about this chapter... I'm curious, since this is my first romance and humour fic that isn't crack so yeah... And yeah, inspired by CipherPrinceOfDreams' Days of Autumn and Days of Summer.

Anyways, catch ya guys later.


	2. Don't Wake Me Up!

"Uh…" I stammered, trying to find the right words to say.

"If you don't have any good reason, please stop. I find it strange," Nyx huffed before turning away to face the window that—

Wait. Window? Where am I? I slowly sat myself up, positively feeling my bones creaking and my muscles aching like crazy. It was like that one time I woke up after awakening to Orpheus. Good times.

I looked around when I finally got up, scanning the white room that I was in. There were a few machines to the side and the typical small desk to the other where I could keep some stuff. But it seemed that it was already occupied by a mountainous amount of cards and some other stuff…

Oh right. I'm in hospital. Great.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, trying to further grasp my bearings on my surroundings and my vision completely clearing up. Oh damn. Nyx.

She had flowing raven hair and unmarred, snow-like skin. Her eyes were a striking cyan colour, similar to Pharos' yet… there was something about that gaze of hers that just made it seem so much more beautiful. Maybe it was that slight sparkle and glint of light in them that made them so special?

"You're staring at me again," Nyx sighed exasperatedly. "Do you not have anything better to do?"

"B-but…" I tried to reason out why but she cut me off. Like always.

"Unless you're thinking about something?" Nyx asked with a plain tone.

Uh… a lot of things could be implied through that sentence but I'll just answer honestly I guess. "It's just… I think you look quite beautiful."

Maybe it was just my slight play-boy instincts from earlier, but it just felt right to say to her. It was true.

"Oh. Old news. People used to think that I was one of the most beautiful beings in the Universe. Or something like that." Nyx shrugged it off.

That's a bit sad… She's been called that so many times, she's grown numb to the compliments. "Well for what it's worth, I'll concede that you're very pretty; and that's saying a lot considering how many girls have been trying to surround me before."

Nyx sighed before nodding slightly. "Yes, yes…" I thought I heard her mumble something under her breath. Something to do with play-boys. Well damn.

"I'm wondering something. Should I just stick to calling you Nyx and think of a random last name, or should I call you something else so that you can fit in a bit better?" I asked, crossing my arms as I awaited her answer.

"Probably the first one. I still have some pride in my name," Nyx replied with a slight amount of irritation.

"Alright then, Shinu Nyx." I nodded.

"Shinu?" Nyx asked with a questioning look, but it wasn't one of those cute ones. It was one of those ones that demanded an answer, and quickly.

"Well… you are basically Death so…" I shrugged. 'Shinu' meant 'pass away' so I just thought it would be fitting.

"Oh. I see," She replied with a bored tone.

Well, I am still in the hospital so I guess my friends have probably been coming to see me. It was morning-ish from what I could tell from the pale yellow light filtering through the window.

But that means… I need an excuse for Nyx to stay here with me. Hm…

Just trying to think about that, I heard the sliding doors open up. Wait, who is this? "Please, let me see him awake…" That sounded kinda like Yukari.

"Well, we can check now." Was that Mitsuru's voice now?

"Oh, I hope he's oka-" Yukari interrupted herself as she saw I was awake. Needless to say, she was stunned silent.

"Yukari, are you al-" Mitsuru started before she too became silent and blinked in surprise.

Awkward…

"Why are all of you staring at each other? Seriously, don't you know it can annoy some people?" Nyx drawled exasperatedly. Okay never mind about thinking of an excuse. I have a feeling this'll just run its course.

"Wait, who is that?" Yukari asked with an incredulous tone.

"Who is that Minato?" Mitsuru questioned with a slightly curious expression.

"U-um… this is Nyx." I answered sheepishly. Now… for the reaction.

"Minato… why the hesitation?" Nyx asked with a deadpan. That deadpan though… I swear it stared into my soul. And ripped it apart from the inside too. That look is scary… If it wasn't her actual powers of Death that killed people it was her stare. I shivered slightly before recomposing myself.

"Does it matter?" I retorted. Take that Nyx.

"Yes it does. There was no need," She replied with a sigh.

"Nyx!?" Yukari shouted.

"…Why is she here?" Mitsuru asked with an icy tone.

"How rude, my full name for now is Shinu Nyx and you will address me as such." She said with an irritated tone.

I sighed before finally answering. "Well here's the deal. By all rights, I should probably be dead. But I made a deal with her, and I can live again so long as I show her enough of the world that she'll change her mind about going along with mankind's wishes and all," I related as succinctly as I could.

"I see…" Mitsuru took in the information as she closed her eyes. "I suppose she will be in your year?"

"Mitsuru?" Yukari asked with a questioning gaze.

"You're actually considering sending her to Gekkoukan with me? With Yukari, Junpei, Fuuka and Aigis?" I looked up at the redhead expectantly. I mean she's seriously considering this?

"I will do everything I can to make sure that the world doesn't end. You know that," Mitsuru smiled knowingly. "Even if this is rather strange circumstance…"

I knew exactly what she was talking about and it was no wonder. We did just get rid of the Dark Hour and stop the world from ending, but if it did happen again it would mean that everyone's efforts in SEES would become meaningless. Well, as long as she's happy to roll with it then.

"Alright. What about you Yukari?" I asked.

"Well… I mean, I don't mind. It's just… a little strange. And think about how the people at school are going to react! But other than that…" She threw a glance to Mitsuru. "I think the fate of the world outweighs a lot of the cons."

"Thanks Yukari. Now to deal with Akihiko, Junpei, Aigis, Fuuka and Ken. We'll also have to watch out for Koromaru's reaction too," I listed the people of SEES off of my fingers.

"Did someone call for me?" A confident and chipper voice called from behind the sliding door before a friend with a familiar cap walked in.

"Oh, hey Junpei." Yukari greeted.

"Hello Iori." Mitsuru sighed.

"Whoa!" I finally caught a glimpse of him with that stubble and hat, and boy was he surprised to see me awake.

"Minato, you're awake! That's awesome dude! When'd you wake up?" He immediately bombarded me with a series of questions and things I should know about to which I answered in succession once his spiel was done.

"Just a few minutes ago, I should be dead, thank god Kenji finally got with Rio, make sure no-one else eats the Zappos and yes, this is not a dream." I replied when he rapid-fired the questions.

"Oh okay, well good you're here, I know right, well duh, the only one who's eating them are me and Akihiko and yes!" Junpei cheered before his gaze landed on Nyx.

"Whoa… who's that? I've never seen her before." The capped teen asked with a bewildered tone.

"She's Nyx," I responded. "She's going to be staying here for a while."

Nyx shrugged at what I said, ignoring the spark in Junpei's gaze as he gawked at her. "Dude… she's damned hot…" He said dreamily.

Freaking serious Junpei?

Nyx shot him a cold glare, and it was the same as the one that she gave me before. That deadpan… Junpei flinched momentarily but continued to look on at her.

"Ugh, Stupei do you really need to be doing that now? Chidori's not going to be happy, you know that!" Yukari scolded him before dragging him out of the room by his ear.

"B-but-!" Junpei tried to protest and defend himself, but by then he was already out the door.

"Well, hopefully we can work some things out so that Nyx can stay at the dorm." Mitsuru rubbed her temples.

"It's the same one?" I asked, just in case.

"Of course." She replied before walking out the door after Yukari and Junpei.

"Minato, I'm just wondering something," Nyx asked with a small sigh.

"What is it?" I replied.

"What does being 'hot' mean? It didn't seem like the normal meaning," She asked.

I proceeded to facepalm. This is going to be a long year, isn't it?

* * *

AN: Hope you like this chapter. Yeah, they're going to be short, but the update speed won't be as bad as I'm making it out to be. Days of Darkness will probably be updated a few days after my other fic, Persona 3: Never To Leave.

If you like the MiNyx pairing you could consider reading NTL, even though that fic only has that pairing until a bit later. Also, it's not a full romance story though it does play a huge part in the plot.

Anyways, tell me what you think. Even if DoD will be updated kinda slowly, I'm still going to be working on it so yeah!

Catch ya guys later!


	3. Rejoining The Dorm

"Ah, I see. So in short when a girl is '**hot**' as you say, it basically means that the male population begins to get ar-" Nyx began to summarise what I had just told her. But… Too much information there!

"Nyx? Too much information," I grimaced and glanced at her, trying to let her know about the uncomfortable situation.

"What about that is too much information?" Nyx asked with a deadpan. I know that this was merely her curiosity and she didn't know too much about us, aside from a few things that Ryoji may or may not have told about to her… I dunno. I don't even know how much she does know about us aside from our apparent and collective death wishes.

"There's another thing that I'll have to teach you about… It's called **tact**," I replied with an exasperated tone. If I had to explain **tact **of all things to her, then I know that this is going to be a long year.

"What is that?" Nyx asked.

"It's hard to explain but I'll do my best," I sighed. "First thing about tact. You have to be able to know when to and when not to say something."

"I know you at least well enough to know the reason why you would be asking those questions, however for those unfamiliar to you it would be…" Fucking awkward? Yeah, but let me word this differently. "Unnerving."

"Did you just use it then?" Nyx questioned.

"Yeah, I could have said something else to get the same thing across, but I said it in a way that hopefully won't come off as too rude or intrusive," I explained further. "That's just one thing about **tact** though and I'll explain it when it comes up."

"I see. So **tact **basically refers to the way that you say things, when and where you say it, and to whom? Usually done in a way that doesn't come off as offensive, derogatory or rude?" Nyx summarised.

But damn, that was one good summary. She might not know that much about people, but she's really smart. "Yeah… I don't think I could have explained it better…" I replied with a slight smile, though my words still carried a bit of surprise in them.

Nyx nodded with what seemed like a triumphant smile on her face and kept walking ahead to the dorm. "That girl…" I smiled inwardly before walking ahead with her.

I had reached the door to the dorm but… okay, why is she not doing anything? Hm… Oh. "How do you get in?" Nyx asked frustratedly as she pulled on the handle.

I pointed to the small sign that said 'push' as I sighed. "Oh," Nyx frowned and pushed the door handle, opening up the way to the dorm. I definitely have a long way to go if she doesn't even know how to open a door of all things… Then again, the last one was a sliding door and I opened the rest of the doors that came before this one. And I did pull all of them. Okay, keen observation on her part, but she somehow missed the sign?

Never mind, I do that occasionally so I can't really talk.

"Why aren't all doors the same? Sooner or later someone's going to get confused by how you open one of these…" She complained.

"Sometimes, it just wouldn't be a good idea," I told her. "In some places where it's cramped you might knock the door against something… or someone…" I smiled sheepishly as I remembered the time where I accidentally got Junpei on the nose when I opened the door to the dorm, smooshing him against the wall. Not the best idea, but yeah… I still have yet to find out why he was even there in the first place but I was pretty sure he shouted something along the lines of 'Noooooo, my COMP!'

Silly Junpei. You don't play on your COMP behind the door where you're probably going to get smashed against the wall. From that day on, he never stood there again.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense… but then why don't people just make more space?" Nyx asked further.

"Sometimes, it just wouldn't be a good idea with **money**, space, and some other stuff that I wouldn't know of," I explained.

"Wait, what's **money**?" Nyx shot another question.

"**Money**?" I asked almost incredulously. "Like… dracmas, currency…"

"Oh. We just called them dracmas, it's not like we really had a name for that kind of thing as a whole," She sighed. "Peculiar…"

Weird indeed. If she didn't know what money of all things was, I would have said that there was something wrong with her. It did exist before, so… Ugh, never mind. This is getting really hard to think about…

Anyways, I just have to wait on Mitsuru. "M-Minato-kun?" I heard a familiar voice call out. I turned to face the direction that the voice came from, and a smile began to crease my lips as I saw who it was.

"Hey again Fuuka," I replied.

"Y-yes… Oh gosh, I hope this isn't a dream…" Fuuka stuttered. Nyx raised an eyebrow at that. Now that I think about it, she's always been commenting whenever somebody stumbled over their words just like Fuuka did right now.

"No, it's not," I smiled. "It's for real."

Fuuka gasped slightly at that, but eventually snapped out of her stupor and engulfed me in an enthusiastic hug. "I'm glad you're safe," She said softly. In the end, she did release me from her embrace. Thankfully. I was running out of breath. She really worried about me a lot.

"Minato-kun, could you tell me who this is?" Fuuka asked as she glanced at Nyx.

"This is Nyx," I replied simply. "She's the one who allowed me a second chance and she'll be staying here for a while."

"Oh, I see… Mitsuru-san will tell us about this later?" Fuuka questioned.

I nodded to tell her 'yes.' "Alright… I hope we'll get along, Nyx-san," Fuuka said politely as she bowed slightly.

"Yes, I hope so as well, Fuuka-san," Nyx replied just as politely. I'm surprised she hadn't commented on Fuuka's quietness. Compared to Yukari and Mitsuru she was very soft spoken. Well, it's fine with me I suppose. Less questions to deflect and answer for me.

Fuuka smiled before going back upstairs. "So… you got her name already?"

"Yes, although I would like to know her full name. And the others as well. I might as well do this right, even though I do think you barely have a chance," Nyx sighed tiredly.

"Alright, we're probably going to have a meeting later so I can introduce everyone then," I replied. Or everyone will just do it on their own like I think will happen. Then I just wouldn't have to do anything, and life would be good. Though, there was something else I was wondering about Fuuka. She didn't seem to be overreacting about Nyx. Something I'll ask about later.

"Oh, I suppose," Nyx sighed. "I would have liked to know everybody's names but I can wait…"

"Thanks," I smiled slightly at her. Yes, less work!

While I was thinking about what I was going to do later, I noticed that Nyx was looking at me. Hey, hypocrite. She was the one complaining about everyone staring at each other. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked with a soft tone.

"W-What? I was?" Nyx frowned before sighing. "My apologies," She mumbled before sitting down on a couch.

I swore I saw a slight glitter in her cheeks, but I shrugged it off. I still wonder why she was looking at me like that, but I guess I can wait to ask that. It's not like it's that important.

It wasn't long before I heard an urgent barking from outside. I only knew one thing that could make that sound: Koromaru. I went over to open the door like I did when someone else walked him, and… Hey, Ken and Akihiko!

"Oh thanks for opening the door…" Ken trailed off as he stared at me, wide-eyed. I've been stared at a lot today, you can shrug it off now. "Minato-san?" He asked cautiously.

"Yup, it's me-" I began before Koromaru tackled me to the floor. "Hey, I'm glad to see you too!" I laughed as I got up to my feet, Koromaru finally getting off me. He has a lot of strength for a little guy.

"Hey, Ken what's taking so long?" I heard another voice call out from the direction of the entrance, and I knew that it could only be Akihiko.

"It's Minato-san!" Ken replied cheerfully. I could tell Akihiko was about to make a statement about how it couldn't be possible that I was here, but that was before I heard another voice make it through before he could say anything.

"Akihiko-senpai, it's true," I heard Junpei say with an almost sing-song voice.

"What!?" Akihiko shouted.

"Hey guys, are you just going to stand around the doorway or are you going to come in?" I asked with a chuckle.

"No way…!" Akihiko muttered as he stood in the doorway with Ken.

"It's really him! Koromaru seems to think the same too!" Ken said.

"The stash of Zappos is still intact!" Junpei grinned as he helped me up.

"That's good," I smiled. I worked hard to gather that many Zappos, so it was good to know that they were still there.

"Wait, what's all that noise?" I heard, coming from yet another direction. I hadn't seen her yet. I wonder why she didn't come down before…

A gasp, and a hug later, and I already knew who it was. "Minato… I thought we lost you…"

"No. Not this time," I grinned at Aigis.

* * *

AN: So hey! I'm back with another chapter and I hope you guys like it! I started working on this almost as soon as I finished the latest chapter to NTL, so it came out rather quickly. Much quicker than I had been intending to pace this story, but hey. Quicker updates are quicker updates.

And now… I finally get to delve into Nyx's naivety, and I have to admit that it was fun trying to show that off. She's about as inexperienced about the world as Aigis was before she came to a better understanding of the world. *sighs* I hope this'll be okay and to your liking!

Please, review! I want to know what you guys think! Sayoonara for now! 3


	4. The Explanation

"I'm glad to see you too Aigis," I smiled at the android.

"I hope this is all for real," Aigis whispered. She might have been an android, but with her emotions that she developed over spending time with all of SEES she now seemed as normal as any other human being. She still did have a few things to learn, but they were things that could come later and weren't particularly urgent.

"No, don't worry about it. It's me for real," I smiled reassuringly before I heard Akihiko and Junpei cough. Well fine! You guys can just ruin the moment if you want to!

"That's good," Aigis smiled. "Now…"

Aigis turned towards Nyx who was simply sitting down on the couch, looking bored. Okay, I could hear a few mutterings about 'what are these so called tables,' but that seemed to come and go for as long as she had been wondering about that. Which was not very long.

Aigis pointed her fingers which were starting to turn into gun form… Oh crap. "Who is this? Tell me before I shoot," she said with a stern tone.

"Wait, Aigis!" I jumped in front of the way, knowing that she wouldn't possibly shoot now. "I'll explain everything later, so please just don't shoot!"

Nyx looked up at that moment with a raised eyebrow, probably wondering what the hell was happening. "You know bullets wouldn't be able to affect me, Fool," she sighed before going back to trying to decipher what looked like a grocery catalogue.

Oh Thanatos, why do I think this is going to be a really bad call? "Nyx… please don't make the situation any worse than it already is…" I almost pleaded, receiving only a slight nod before she went back to reading.

"Nyx!?" Aigis shouted. "Why is she here!? She should be… She shouldn't be here! She's dangerous!"

I looked back at Nyx who seemed not to be minding either way. Well… I guess not. She might be used to this already, considering whom she is and what she commands: The night queen who commands Death. "It's complicated, and everything should be explained later when Mitsuru gets back…"

Aigis warily lowered her arms, still glaring at Nyx. "Alright… but if she does do anything, be sure that I will not hold back the next time," she replied.

I sighed in relief as I stepped out of the way, looking back towards Nyx to see her reaction, or whether she had reacted at all for that matter. Nope, she's still reading. I looked over at Akihiko, Junpei, Ken and Koromaru and it looked like they were silent the whole time. The intensity of the animosity between our resident android and goddess was a compelling reason just not to get caught up in the whole mess.

I guess so. With a situation that tense, I really shouldn't have gotten myself in the way like I did… But it was the quickest and easiest way.

Well, Koromaru broke the tension as he bounded over to Aigis, nuzzling her leg. I chuckled inwardly. He was as cute as always.

After that little fiasco with Aigis and Nyx, I decided that it would be best for me to catch up on anything that had happened within the past day that was particularly important. It was… interesting to say the least.

"Yeah dude, I heard there was going to be a new transfer student at school!" Junpei grinned. "Seems like only a few days ago that you transferred here, and I went up to you and—"

"You were being 'friendly' with him?" Yukari cut in with a bit of a knowing smile, seemingly just coming back from the mall. I could definitely tell, since there were certain signs that I had become accustomed to know whether Yukari had gone shopping. And she went shopping a lot, so there was a lot of time to notice those kinds of things. Some were more obvious and others, not so.

For one, there were the bags that she was carrying. It was a tell-tale sign for pretty much anyone that had been shopping, especially for most girls. There are exceptions, but… They're special cases. I briefly remembered Chihiro and Yuko once that thought came up in my mind.

Anyways, there are others that I know of and if I see them or have to explain them, if ever… they're things that I'll think about later.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Junpei replied indignantly with a scowl. And of course, Yukari's attempts to rile him up were as scathing as ever. Always was, always will be I suppose.

I chuckled a bit at that before noticing that Mitsuru was finally back. I smiled at her, and she did the same. Well, alright then… "Should we be going to the command room?" I asked, anticipating the answer.

Mitsuru nodded and replied, "Yes…" She looked over to Yukari, silently telling her to go and inform Fuuka and Aigis. Yukari smiled and ran up the stairs to get the two. "Thank you Yukari."

"No problem senpai," Yukari replied.

"We should probably go too," Ken piped up.

"Yes, good point," Mitsuru smiled before making her way up the stairs. "Let's go."

Junpei, Ken, Koromaru and Akihiko made their ways up with Mitsuru, however I stayed behind to get Nyx. "Come on Nyx. You said you wanted to learn everyone's names right?"

Nyx looked up at me with a bored expression before sighing and standing up. "Yes, yes… I'll come…" she replied with a bored tone. She wanted to learn their names earlier, so why does it seem like she doesn't want to come now?

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Nyx raised an eyebrow at that before sighing. "I'm just wondering about something," she replied. "I might ask you about it later sometime…"

I nodded slowly, wondering what she was thinking about. "Well, let's go," I smiled slightly, beckoning her over to the stairs.

After a few minutes, we successfully reached the command room without any mishaps and I opened up the doors to the room. The atmosphere seemed at least pretty relaxed from most parties, but of course there were a few exceptions such as Ken and Aigis. Aigis I had expected though, especially since her earlier reaction just said a lot of things about how much she likes Nyx. Which is pretty much non-existent.

I sighed before sitting down, motioning Nyx over to a seat on the couch. "So… where should I start?" I said, looking over the group.

"Why don't you start with why she is here?" Mitsuru suggested.

I nodded at that and started my story. "Alright…"

"Well the whole reason Nyx is here is because I made a deal with her so that she won't destroy the world," I explained. "I basically have to show her that not all people have death wishes. If I do that, then she won't bring the Fall and I get to stay here."

"How can you be sure that she won't break her promise?" Aigis asked with a sharp tone. Well, I can't exactly blame her for not being able to trust Nyx. Before I was about to answer, Nyx cut in.

"I don't have a reason to. If he can't show me what he intends to, the Fall will destroy everything regardless," Nyx replied. "Besides… Gods don't lie. Only the trickster Gods, but that actually makes sense."

Why did I just get the feeling that she was talking down to us in a way? Sometime I hope that attitude of hers gets fixed… It could end up with some pretty disastrous results if she's not careful, and I'm not careful. "Yeah… Ryoji didn't lie either!" Junpei exclaimed. Wow, Junpei being smart for once? Never thought I'd see the day.

"Well, now that's out of the way… how are we going to get her into school?" I asked Mitsuru.

"I've already made the arrangements to transfer her into the school, so there is nothing to worry about," Mitsuru replied with a knowing smile.

"I suppose the only thing we have to worry about is making sure Nyx-san doesn't get into any trouble with the teachers…" Fuuka said.

I thought I saw Nyx raise an eyebrow, but I shrugged it off for now since she didn't say anything. Well… I hope everything goes okay at least. "So, I guess we're cool for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I guess," Yukari smiled slightly before yawning. "But, I'm kinda tired. I think we better get some sleep."

"Guess we better all hit the sack," Akihiko added, to which everyone agreed.

After everyone had left, Nyx stayed behind once again even though Fuuka had offered to take her to her room earlier. "You alright?"

Nyx turned to face me with a sceptical expression. At least, I thought it was. I couldn't quite tell. At the very least I knew that she was thinking about something. "Yes, I'm alright," she sighed.

"You don't sound like it," I replied. Was what she was thinking about really that intense? It seemed that there were more and more things for her to be thinking about here, and she was only in this world for about half a day.

She only chuckled at that. "You don't need to worry. All you need to be worrying about is getting your point to me across. That's all."

And still, Nyx seems really nonchalant about all this. I hope I haven't gotten myself into a whole lot of trouble by doing this. But then again, if the world ended as a result of my rash actions now… no-one would ever know. "If you say so," I sighed. "You better get to your room. Fuuka's gonna tell you where it is."

"Why aren't you showing where it is?" Nyx asked.

"Because guys aren't usually allowed in the girls' rooms unless it's under special circumstances," I explained. Especially with someone like Junpei around, not one of the girls will ever feel safe if guys were allowed on their floor. I know, that's probably exaggerating, but it is Junpei. Everything, just about everything could go wrong with Junpei.

"Hm… I suppose. If anything unseemly happened as a result of men being allowed to go into the girls' rooms…" Nyx trailed off, her face turning into a frown. Obviously there would be very bad consequences to anyone peeping on her. Oh joy. But then again, why would I care?

"Yeah. Well, I guess I'll see ya a bit later," I smiled slightly before walking out of the room.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day… I could feel it.

* * *

AN: Well, okay this chapter did take a bit longer than I had expected but I got kinda bored during the explanation scene so yeah… I finally got through it though, but I feel like there could be some improvements to it. I'm not completely sure what though, unfortunately.

Well, if you guys see anything of note, please tell me! I want to make this fic as good as I can make it. So, please review! I would appreciate it!

Sayoonara for now~!


	5. Sleep Paralysis

You know? Usually I enjoy holidays. But this time, I wasn't so sure.

I pried my eyes open to see that accursed sunlight first thing in the morning, nearly blinding me. Seriously, who puts a window there!? I rubbed the sleep and temporary blindness out of my eyes and got ready for the day ahead.

Looks like my usual get up was what I was gonna go for this time. I pulled on my navy hoodie and walked out, wondering what I was going to do for today. Of course there was the case of Nyx. Maybe I could take her around Iwatodai. There would probably be some dire consequences if she somehow strayed off and got lost. You know, that's probably how I'm going to spend my holidays. Teaching Nyx about Iwatodai.

I wasn't quite sure how I could get Nyx to see that there was still some hope in humanity. I know, the bonds that I shared with my friends and hell… even love was what helped me to seal her away before. But I couldn't really just tell her that. I don't know whether she would be able to see the point of all of it.

I sighed inwardly and saw that Nyx was downstairs, reading a grocery catalogue. Why is she reading them though? It's not like they're anything that interesting… But I guess she'd be able to learn about some of the different things in our world…

My next train of thought was on the fact that I was so focused on making sure Nyx understood more of the things that existed in our modern world. I keep wondering why. I guess if she knew more about our world then she could fit in better in society and whatever…

Argh! I complicated things again in my head!

"Morning Nyx," I greeted.

Nyx looked up to me, with a bit of a bedhead and a sleepy look in her eyes. "Oh. You seem to be having a better morning than me at least," she sighed.

"Why? Did something happen?" I asked worriedly, and out of a bit of curiosity. Hey! It was interesting…

"You know how I'm the Night Queen?" she said with emphasis on the word 'night.' Night?

…

Oh! I see. "Guess you wouldn't be a morning person…" I muttered.

"Are you trying to patronize me?" she growled. Wrong choice of words… obviously. A mental facepalm later, I returned my attention back to Nyx and shook my head.

"Good," she replied. "If you were… I would have put you back into your place like the little mortal you are, Fool." Kowaii… Dayum. Remind me and the others never to get onto her bad side, brain? Yes, I will. Okay good. Now that I have officially had a conversation with my own brain and provided almost insurmountable evidence that I should have been admitted to a mental ward about a year ago, I'll tell that to the others later.

"I got it, I got it…" I smiled nervously before going over to the kitchen-y and sink area thing… I never got the courage to call it by its actual name… I felt… before like I would lose a lot of manliness points by saying something like that. The only one who could possibly say that without sounding stupid was Shinjiro…

Unless calling this place by its actual name actually gave me manliness points then awesome. But somehow despite my badass amount of courage… It seems the only thing that anyone could ever be greater than me in is Shinjiro in regards to courage…

Ah, the humanity…!

Anyways… what am I gonna make this time?

"Oh hey Minato-kun… you're up kinda early…" Yukari yawned a little before staggering her way into the kitchen-y and sink area thing. You know, I just realised how stupid I am. Staggering her way into the kitchen. Right.

"Eh, it's not that bad," I shrugged, catching a glimpse of the rice and some ingredients for miso soup. Coolio, I wouldn't mind that. And everyone seems to love my cooking no matter what I do since I never have the Fuuka disasters.

Yukari wrapped her arms around my neck just as I gathered the ingredients I needed for the miso soup. Damn, miso soup sounds really good right now… Good choice brain. Well duh, I am your processing centre. Good point. I'm just no longer going to comment on whatever you say that is directed at me, your brain. Aw… okay.

And Yukari? Meh. Anyways… Oh yeah, I can even make tamagoyaki and some good nori. Whoo, it's almost like a full breakfast thing! "I could be up even earlier…" I hummed slightly. I had a bit of a habit of singing small tunes when I was talking casually. Well… I started making everything and boiling the rice and stuff.

"I guess so," Yukari replied, albeit a bit sleepily.

I think this is a job for some multitasking even with a girl right attached to my back. I moved over slightly to the fridge and picked up the orange juice and moving again… I picked up a glass and poured the juice in, turning the settings for the rice cooker on at the same time. "Need a bit of a pick-me-up?" I asked Yukari cordially, indicating the glass.

"Oh, thanks Minato-kun," she said cheerfully, picking it up with one hand and almost reluctantly letting go of me to drink it. Orange juice was better in the long run since coffee was just a temporary fix to a pretty long running problem. I knew… all too well. I used to be the sleepy type and a person who just loved their sleep and clung to it like a precious gem. Which it definitely was, but I tried to limit that kinda thing now. Only if we ever went to Tartarus which is pretty much… not possible.

"No prob," I said absent-mindedly. I was still making everything so more of my concentration was on making the food and less on talking. Especially since I could pretty much feel Nyx's presence and terrifyingly crushing aura behind me. I was trying to ignore it as much as possible. I'm exaggerating of course.

"What's up Nyx?" I asked, at least trying to spare a small glance at her to be a bit more polite.

"Are you… multitasking?" Nyx asked sceptically. Why would she be wondering about that of all things? Well… never mind.

"Yeah," I replied, turning the stove on. Hm… I hope I don't get anything confused here now. I know that I want seaweed in the miso but I also need some for the nori and rice…

"Hm… I see," Nyx sighed. "I probably shouldn't be distracting you then… I'll just watch," she decided, looking on what I was doing from the side so that she couldn't really hinder me. Well, it's good she has the sense to do that.

I sighed inwardly, humming a small tune so it wouldn't be so quiet. I was the kind of person that always listened to something at almost any time of the day so when I didn't have my earphones with me, I hummed instead. "So light 'em up, up, up…" I sang softly, finally starting to heat up the ingredients in the pot for the miso soup.

"Light 'em up, up, up," Hm, I wish that more people around here know about some other foreign bands. That would be one of the most awesomest thing for me actually, to talk to someone about some metal, rock and punk like Skillet, Nightwish and Fall Out Boy… stuff like that.

"Light 'em up, up, up," I started on the tamagoyaki and started to beat the eggs together. Hm, the fun part's coming up. For the food and the song…

"I'm on fire!" I smiled to myself. That was my favourite part of the song, with all the combined harmonies and things. But of course, I didn't really say that as loud as they did in the song. I didn't need another stare on me. Make that two, Fuuka's coming down. This is coming together for a typical morning for me actually.

Now we just need the rest. But from what I've gathered, Akihiko or someone must've taken Koromaru for a morning walk since I couldn't see our resident shiba inu around. Hopefully they'll get back soon.

Welp, tamagoyaki's done. So is the rice and miso soup. Awesomeness. Dishes? Okay, not quite everything ready. After getting some bowls out for the rice and some of the disposable chopsticks I laid out everything and… tada! If there's any one thing that needs fixing it's that we need to stop using the freaking disposable chopsticks. But I guess you don't really need to throw them away but…

"Breakfast's done," I said with a bit of a sing-song voice, alerting Fuuka, Yukari and Nyx.

With breakfast done and plenty of leftover food since I had made some for every SEES member that could possibly eat this, we were eating with some small bits of conversation. "Minato-kun, your cooking is really good," Fuuka smiled.

"Yeah, it's as good as always!" Yukari smiled as well.

"Nyx, you aren't gonna eat? I thought even Goddesses ate," I gestured to an empty seat. She's always observing, but that's not the point. She's supposed to interact!

"We do. But I never saw a need-" Nyx began before being cut off by some pretty noticeable stomach rumblings.

"Come on Nyx, like a friend of mine said, you can't ignore the call of the stomach," I chuckled. That friend was Kenji. It's something that makes sense for him to say.

"Oh alright…" Nyx said with a bit of an irritated tone. I guess she doesn't really take to being proven wrong. Arrogance and stubbornness. Seems like something you see in almost every major god in Greek mythology. Just like Zeus and Aphrodite. Though, Athena's actually pretty okay. She helps out a lot of heroes. Suddenly Aigis' Persona makes more sense. Wonderfully awesome.

Once Nyx had sat herself down, Aigis' voice seemed to come from upstairs. Must've just come out from that pod thing of hers. "Good morning," she said stiffly, sitting herself down. Aigis was eyeing Nyx suspiciously before deciding to stop and actually eat. Yeah, she ate. I don't get it either. Them Kirijo people are pros at robotic programming and shit. I'm not.

Nyx had been fumbling over using her chopsticks though… I should really help her with that… "Are you okay with using them?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm just trying to get used to it. Before, I think we had things called knives and forks," she said almost frustrated before she stopped in her tracks. "I don't think we had those either…"

Well… talk about awkward.

After Fuuka so kindly helped Nyx with using her chopsticks, seeing as I was a no good teacher and only good at the more intellectual side of things I decided that Nyx should go out for a bit of a trip. "Anyways, the leftovers are for Ken, Mitsuru and Akihiko," I said to the girls absentmindedly before standing up and facing Nyx.

"Come on Nyx, we're going out," I said with a stern tone. Nyx looked like she was about to protest but eventually she sighed and nodded.

After we were out of the dorm, we started towards Iwatodai Strip Mall. Might as well start small and then I'll lead her around Paulownia Mall next time we go out. After going over the restaurants and most of the shops in the area and teaching her how to order items, I took her to Book-on.

"Why are we here?" Nyx asked.

"It's a manga café, so it's pretty quiet. It's a good place to get some information about certain things as well since they don't only have manga," I explained.

Nyx looked at me sceptically before shrugging it off and starting to walk slowly inside.

"Anyways, remember what I told you at Bookworms. It's about the same here, so just take your time," I sighed. "I need to… recharge."

Nyx nodded at that slowly before going over to what looked like the magical girl section of manga. Weird choice, but okay. I was going around some of the more factual and information-like books and chose a few. It was when I was sitting down and starting to read through that I noticed an interesting… someone.

There was someone next to me who appeared to be napping on the desk, and mumbling something as he was sleeping. Uh… hearing what he was saying, I could hear something about demons and I think I even heard 'Emily Rose' in that small string of phrases.

Against my better judgement, I shook him a little.

…

No response. Okay…

I tried again, but harder. God, I should not have done that.

"Why the hell are you doing that!?" he stood up and grabbed my collar, shaking me back and forth in what seemed to be a frenzy.

"Sorry!" I yelled back before receiving some 'shh' sounds telling us to be quiet. The guy looked around before groaning and sitting back down.

"Are you okay?" I asked nervously as I too sat back down.

He shot me a glare before running his hands through his hair. "I guess… but there's just one thing you should know about me. Never. Ever. Wake me up when I'm sleeping," he growled.

Now that he had calmed down I thought it would be a good chance to look him over. He had black hair for starters, and I swear that if those bangs of his were a bit longer he would look a lot like me… That might be my imagination though. His skin tone was pale, but just lightly tanned. And his eyes were a hazel-ish and dark brown colour.

"Anyways, since you've already woken me up…" he sighed, though I swear I heard some mutterings under his breath that sounded like 'who wakes people up in a place like this' but I just kinda ignored it. I probably wasn't supposed to hear that. "I'm Baru Kanashi… but just call me by my first name."

Hey, he even had a slight accent. Sounded a little American. Maybe he's from there or something. Wait… Kanashi Baru?

That sounds scarily like the word… sleep paralysis…

AN: So… I updated kinda quickly this time? *gaspy face* Anyways, yeah. I dunno whether I'll be able to keep this pace up so I still wouldn't expect the next chapter all too soon.

But hey, this is my first (and only) OC for Minato's little friend group. Yes, his name is a corruption on the phrase for sleep paralysis. And yeah, obviously this chapter is named after him for that little reference. I had a hard time coming up with a name for the guy, especially since I was a bit nervous about putting him in since he is based on another real person~

Hehe. I hope he's okay…

Yup, I was spending a lot of time on Minato's thoughts this time. It shows. Thank you Fairly English Story for giving me more fuel… XD

Anyways, see ya guys when I have the next chapter. Sayoonara for now! 3


	6. More Coincidences?

I shook my head. I just hope that there's a good reason for his name being like that.

"I see… I'm Arisato Minato," I replied slowly, still trying to wrap my head around Kanashi-san's name.

"Huh. Cool," he commented. That is, before he started to look around for something. When he stopped, I too turned my head as I heard a very familiar voice calling me out from the same direction.

"Minato, there's something really strange about this book that I found…" Nyx started, however she too was distracted by Kanashi's presence. It was a stifling silence before Kanashi shook his head.

"Uh… 'scuse me but who's that? You two know each other?" Kanashi asked as he looked between the two of us with a sceptical gaze.

"Oh… her name's Shinu Nyx… she's an acquaintance of mine," I replied. I couldn't exactly say we were friends after all. She kinda didn't really like me that much, and I thought that this was going to be a whole lot of work just to convince her about the fact that humanity didn't wish for the world to end and stuff.

"Huh," Kanashi muttered before I heard Nyx speak up.

Nyx sighed before saying, "Alright… anyways, I need you to take a look at this book. It's strange," she rubbed her temples, handing over what appeared to be a manga book. What about this book could possibly be so strange…? I turned the blurb around to the title page and… Holy. How is this shit even possible?

"Wow, that looks pretty cool," Kanashi said. "It's okay if I take a look right?"

I nodded and handed the book over to him, and I could see his face contorting between different emotions. Most notably, were the looks of amusement and the smiles that were appearing on his face… "It's called… Persona 4."

"Yeah…" I said dumbly. If this is the fourth in a series, then what the hell is the third, second and first!? Especially when I was looking at the blurb. That really confused me. It specifically said 'Persona' and 'Shadows' in the blurb. Is this some kind of joke?

"Yes, it's quite strange…" Nyx sighed. "I need that back. I wasn't planning to buy it," she said, holding her hand out for the book.

"Huh? Oh. I'm gonna buy it," Kanashi replied. "I like it," he said simply.

Nyx raised an eyebrow before saying, "You're pretty str-"

"Nyx? What did I tell you about tact?" I looked at her with a deadpan. Nyx pulled a sceptical expression before she 'oh'ed in realization. Though, she did look kinda annoyed.

Kanashi looked like he was about to say something about her but he stopped himself. "Is something up?" I asked.

"Yeah. The ceiling," he shrugged. Oh gods, that's one of the oldest jokes. Ever. I sighed before I heard Nyx say something.

"Are you done 'recharging' as you put it?" Nyx asked with a bored expression.

"Hm… I suppose so," I shrug. Hm… where to next?

"Well, I gotta go now. See ya later?" I asked as I stood up. Kanashi nodded and he too stood up.

"Yeah. Think I'll see ya around later Minato," he replied with a smile before he went over to the counter, presumably to pay for that… unusual book.

He's one interesting character at least. And he seems pretty normal, despite the fact about his name and everything. He must not get a lot of sleep normally. Poor guy. I have a feeling he needs more sleep than I do, and that's saying a lot with how in the past we had to stay up for an extra hour for Tartarus explorations in the past. At least I don't need to worry about it now…

"So… let's go," I sighed.

"Where?" Nyx asked with a curious expression, though that little 'spark' of curiosity seemed to disappear as soon as it came.

"Back to the dorm," I started towards the door. But…

I felt Nyx's hand on my shoulder and I turned back to face her. "I wasn't quite finished…" she mumbled, holding up a… is that why she was in the magical girls section? That freaking catchy tune started playing in my head, but I quickly swallowed the hums that probably would have come out and nodded slowly.

"You want it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…Yes," she said, averting her gaze to the ground.

"Alright, alright…" I sighed, though I still had a smile on me. That was pretty cute, especially because of the main character, what she represents and what Nyx represents.

Oh, memories of Sailor Moon are coming back to me… I sighed inwardly. Thank you my childhood friend.

After we got back to the dorm, I found… what's Kanashi doing here? And he has a scowl on. And he's talking to Junpei. This has got to be one of the biggest coincidences that I've ever seen.

"Uh… I thought I'd see you later, not a few minutes after we met," I sighed. I should've known that Junpei would have gone out. It is the holidays after all.

"Oh. Hey," Kanashi said, though his scowl only lightened up a little.

"Dude, do you know him? And you know him?" Junpei asked. First question, for me. Second question, was for Kanashi.

"Yeah… we met just this afternoon actually," I rubbed the back of my head before turning to Nyx. "You don't need to stay here you know," I whispered.

"Oh good. I need to go read… this material," she said stiffly before making her way up the stairs.

"Yup," Kanashi replied simply before turning his head to Junpei. "And then… this guy," he indicated Junpei, though said friend was a bit offended that he was being talked about as if he weren't actually there. "Junpei, kinda said hello to me when he noticed the book I was holding…" I think the unsaid question of his was why there were so many people approaching him today and why his luck was being like this.

"Yeah, but it's the Persona series! It's one of the greatest things… ever! It's part of the Innocent Sin MMORPG I showed you last year!" Junpei exclaimed.

"Wait, Innocent Sin?" Kanashi mulled it over for a bit, and Junpei fell quiet, probably wanting to see his reaction. "I really like that game. It was one of the best things that I've ever played actually. I think I broke something when the MMO shut down though…"

He breaks stuff too? Geez. First violent shaking now breaking stuff against walls?

"This is one of my best days ever!" Junpei cheered when he heard Kanashi's reaction, almost looking to hug someone. That someone was me. I wonder what would've happened if he hugged Kanashi instead?

"Um… Junpei? Can you get off me?" I asked as politely as possible. Thankfully, he did unlatch himself from me so that's a relief. But not before going over to Kanashi. And again, thankfully, he didn't hug him. I had a feeling something bad would've happened if Junpei did that.

"Hey Kanashi, what school are you going to? I haven't seen ya around Gekkoukan before so…" Junpei started.

"I just moved here recently, and yeah… actually I am gonna go to Gekkoukan this year," he replied.

…He's the transfer student? Wow. Talk about another stroke of good luck!

"Awesome, I just met the new transfer student too!" Junpei shouted. "Also, where are you from? You don't sound like you come from around here," he asked curiously.

Kanashi raised an eyebrow before answering, "I came from America… why?"

Huh. Thought so. "Junpei's… the nosy type. He might not look it, but he's actually a huge part of the rumour mill around school," I sighed. Surprisingly, I was not one of the people that were really involved in the rumour mill around school, despite how popular I was. Well, at least for fan girls. It was more like infamy around the really jealous guys.

Even though I attracted all sorts of people to try and… associate with me, I still wasn't part of the rumour mill. But that was probably because more and more of the rumours towards the end of last year were about me instead of them passing through me and then spreading around the school. Now that I think about it, that was mostly Junpei's fault.

"Oh. Great," Kanashi sighed before his palm met his forehead. Yeah, kinda expected that reaction.

"You know what's really awesome dude?" Junpei said.

"What?" Kanashi asked with a sigh.

"You also just met the most popular guy at school," Junpei elaborated. Did you really have to put that out there Junpei?

"Oh really?" Kanashi said with a raised eyebrow and an overall sceptical expression. Though after looking me up and down he nodded. "Makes sense. I'm guessing I also just met the class clown. Of everything."

"Yeah, unfortunately for you," I sighed.

"Minato, I need to ask you something," I heard Nyx's voice. Wonder what now? "How come I can't shoot crescent moon beams like Usagi?"

Because. Nyx isn't a magical girl. She's a goddess. I also facepalmed.

* * *

AN: Weaker chapter in my opinion, but I am just getting started I suppose. Yes, Nyx's naivety was showing again. Yes, Kanashi has some of the weirdest luck ever. Yes, Junpei is basically one of the main parts of the rumour mill. And yes, Minato-sama's reign still holds over Gekkoukan, like always. XD

Anyways, that's it for this chapter. Hope you guys like it, and tell me your thoughts in your reviews! Sayoonara for now~! 3


	7. Wanna Play?

So… I'm taking Nyx to Paulownia Mall today, huh? I really feel like I don't know what I'm doing as I'm doing this. I mean… does it help over all in regards to my goal? It's not like showing her around a shopping mall of all things could really help with my predicament… Could it?

I rubbed my eyes and shuffled out of bed. Gods I feel tired… I'm getting back into my patterns again. Just great. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to avoid the sun's harsh glare. Damn that sunlight! I don't need it right now… "Night time's better," I mused aloud before getting ready for the day and trying to tame my hair.

Freaking bedhead. Anyways, after going downstairs to find Nyx seemingly with a bedhead as well, I ate a little and met up with her. "So… same as always?" I sighed, sitting down next to her and stirring around some natto.

"Yes," she said with an irritated tone. Wow. She's even less sociable than I am in the mornings. Well, there's something we have in common. "I wish my daughter would have some kind of decency with her timing," she shook her head as she ate her muesli bar.

Does she mean Hemera? I wonder whether she's actually on good terms with her. Not to mention, is she saying that it would be possible for me to meet other gods and goddesses as well? That's… not foreboding at all… I sighed before replying with, "Do you get along with your sons and daughters?"

"Depends. Hemera I don't really meet all that often, since the few times that we do meet I think we cause something you people call an eclipse," Nyx sighed. "When we do, we don't really talk that much either. Very rarely will our talks last more than ten cycles."

How did I not make that connection before? Wow. And that makes so much sense…

"My other daughters and sons I don't really talk to either," she continued. Talk about detached relationships there, huh. Then how much does she talk to Erebus? In mythology he was her consort and everything so… I think this is something to wonder about later.

"Oh. I see," I sighed. You know it's funny… Nyx is supposed to be pretty curious about this world, even if her demeanour says otherwise. And yet, now I'm getting more interested in her as well when I'm supposed to help satisfy her curiosity here.

"Where are we going today? You wouldn't have approached me otherwise," Nyx asked with a fairly bored tone. Even with her naivety, she's pretty good at putting things together. Though sorting out the fact that Usagi from Sailor Moon is from a work of fiction and therefore cannot be used to ever dictate whatever powers Nyx has did take a tiny bit more effort than I was expecting. I think that was because Kanashi was there as well. Now that… that took a lot of work to cover up.

"I was going to show you around the mall," I answered. "Like before, it's a just in case," I continued before Nyx was about to ask me why. She nodded slightly before standing up, smoothing out her dress. Thank Thanatos though that Yukari was able to fix up a wardrobe for her. Before her dress was extravagant it almost looked like she was a rich kid. And with her beauty… She looked like a prime target for a lot of things, including dealing with people that could possibly flirt with her, and other… things.

We went around the shops, not really buying anything in particular but just showing her the stuff that she could get around here, including Power Records and Be Blue V. Last on the list were Game Panic, Mandragora and Escapade which we couldn't go into since it wasn't night time yet.

"Can you sing?" I asked. I could sing alright, but I only sang songs that I actually liked. And those that had a darker tone in music.

"I suppose so. I'm not exactly known for singing, but I can sing a little bit," Nyx replied simply. Huh. So she says. Well, we can only see what'll happen when she does. "Why?" she asked with a bored tone.

"I was going to take you somewhere that a lot of people go to, but it's just that it's a lot more fun when there are more people with you," I sighed. "I'll take you if I have more of a group with me."

I even smiled slightly. It was a bit tiresome, showing Nyx around and showing her the ropes on how we live. Honestly, I couldn't wait until I could go free but until then she was more like an iron ball slowing me down. It's not like she ever seems overly excited about anything. The one time I know of would be that Sailor Moon volume. I just wanted to kinda get this over and done with.

However despite that, if I went with some other people if wouldn't be so bad. It was true. It would always be more fun going to a karaoke booth in a group. You'd listen to everyone sing badly and groan, and clap genuinely when the people who were actually good at singing performed.

"Okay," Nyx nodded slightly. I wonder how Nyx feels about this. It's not as if she seemed overly enthusiastic about this. She might think this is a whole waste of time. It seemed as if that's what she thought back at the seal. Looking back on that, I'm kinda still wondering how I managed to convince her at all.

I looked back at her from my musing and noticed that she had that perpetual expression of aloofness and lack of care for anything. It seemed almost blank. "First… Game Panic," I indicated the arcade that was next to Power Records.

"Game what?" Nyx asked with an almost incredulous tone. She had a raised eyebrow and a largely sceptical expression this time. I wonder if what I just said sounded really, really stupid to her.

"Game Panic. It's what we call an arcade," I explained. "Here you can play things called video games," I looked back to Nyx and saw that she still had a bit of a clueless expression on her.

"It's basically what Junpei is using on his PSP," I clarified.

"Oh. Why would you want to use these so called video games?" Nyx asked.

"They're fun," I smiled slightly. I could even admit to playing a few video games myself such as Innocent Sin Online and some others like Street Fighter and whatnot. Even if… Innocent Sin Online became more about meeting up with 'Maya' than anything. When I learned 'Maya' was actually my teacher… That was almost a pretty big surprise, but at the same time, by what she said… It was pretty obvious. She did just describe me while she was talking to me after all.

Nyx still held that unamused mask on her visage. This isn't getting me anywhere. "You really need to play one to see what I mean," I rubbed the back of my head before gesturing towards the sliding doors.

"If you say so," she replied, though I swear I saw her shake her head a little from side to side. It was something I noticed since she always seemed to hold herself upright and straight with an overwhelming amount of pride. Quite the opposite of me, who always slouches. I have a feeling that the shaking was basically the reaction of 'why am I following this Fool again?'

She deadpanned at me before walking through the sliding doors. Yeah, I think that was about right. Maybe I should take up a role in reading people's emotions? Haha, no. I'm not good at that. I'm good at hiding what I'm actually thinking.

The whirr of the arcade machines buzzed about in the air, rumbles of several combined racing car games shook the ground, and many exaggerated sound effects and melodies from different music based video games rang in my ears. There was more, but… they were shooting games. Which I didn't really care about enough to play since I thought they were pretty boring.

Nyx gave me a pointed expression before she finally said, "How do you use these?" Somehow she was able to say it so clearly, even over all the noise.

"I'll show you," I replied, showing her over to a machine for Street Fighter. It was more typical, so yeah.

I sat down in the chair with a sigh before saying, "Okay, you just usually slip the coins that you need into the slot here," I explained, indicating the slot where you put the yen in. "Then you just have to follow the instructions on the screen." I pointed my finger towards the words, options and controls.

"Want to see first before you try?" I asked as I looked up at Nyx's slightly bemused expression.

"Alright," she sighed.

With that, I took a firm grasp on the controls and started. I only picked Zangief since he was the character I knew about most. Which kinda sucks, but it's not like fighting games like this were really my thing.

I dunno who I was playing against, but he was actually pretty good. There were some good combos, but somehow I was able to predict his pattern after a while and I was able to beat him. It actually seemed kinda familiar though…

Not long after his defeat, I heard someone shout, "Aw damn it, I was so close!"

I poked my head over the machines to look around for the person I knew said that. Once I met his gaze he froze and turned to me with a surprised face. "M-Minato!? What are you doing here!?" he asked.

"You think I don't play video games too? You know I kick your ass a hella lot because of your predictable patterns, right?" I sighed. What is with my luck?

"But… you're with Nyx," he stammered.

"So? I'm just showing her around like I did the other day," I deadpanned at him.

I stood up and got off the seat, inserting a few more coins into the machine. "Come on Nyx. Your turn," I gestured to the seat. I had closed my eyes at that moment, so consider how surprised I was when I saw her already in the seat.

"Mmhm," she said nonchalantly, though I could tell she was staring intently at the screen. Are you really that into this Nyx?

"Well… Better do your best, otherwise Nyx might just kick your ass," I chuckled, placing some yen for him to use on top of the machine he was using. "…Junpei," I grinned.

* * *

AN: I'm surprised that I'm starting to get into a regular rhythm for this fic. A pleasant surprise though. Hope you liked the chapter! I realize I left it on a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I'm sorry, I don't usually use them… But I felt it would be a good idea to leave the chapter there. Next time, Nyx is going to have a try at video games apparently. I wonder what's going to happen…

Anyways, tell me your thoughts in your reviews! I'd appreciate it! Sayoonara for now!


	8. A Song Sung By Orpheus

Nyx eyed the screen intently, opting for less of a determined gamer-like look and more of a cold icy glare. Oh man… even if you stare at it, the glass isn't going to crack if that's what she's going for…

If she is, which I whole heartedly hoped she wasn't, then I'll have another thing to explain to her. Just great…

Looking over the other side of the cabinets, Junpei had an obscenely focused expression on his face. He did not look like he wanted to lose at all. Well, he did just lose once to me and if he somehow loses this fight I'm never going to let him live it down and he would still have to deal with the terror of losing to a complete noob.

The bell and announcer sounded the beginning of the fight, and I had noticed that Nyx had picked Juri while Junpei had picked Ken Masters. Huh. Why did Nyx pick Juri? She's pretty difficult to use without getting some practice in. But… I guess she wouldn't really know that.

Surprisingly, Nyx was able to make some decent combos and seemed to be getting the hang of it quickly. Was she really watching how I made my moves that carefully before? However, Junpei was still going strong. He was after all, the more experienced player out of the two.

Nyx seemed to be watching Junpei's moves intently. She seems to have a sharp eye…

Junpei, I couldn't really see but he still was putting up a fight.

Suddenly, the bell sounded again. I looked over both health meters and…

Holy. Damn.

"Argh! I was about to put that fool in his place!" Nyx cursed before angrily going through the rest of the animations.

"What…?" Junpei seemed to be at a loss for words as he stood up. "How was she able to use Juri and almost win, when she's a complete noo-"

"Junpei, I think it would be best for you not to finish that sentence," I sighed, indicating Nyx's soul piercing gaze.

Junpei flinched and immediately shut up. Wow. Nyx shut Junpei up faster than Mitsuru does when she's having a bad day. That is fast. Speaking of, Nyx also seems to be good at putting people in their places…

"What were you going to say, fool?" she snapped. Nyx's even more condescending when it's not me, and I thought she was pretty condescending already.

"N-Nothing!" Junpei yelped, trying to cover up what he was going to say. "I swear!"

"That's what I thought," Nyx finally relented. Though, that didn't stop her from glaring at Junpei all the while we were exiting the arcade. Okay, not so. "Next time this won't end in just a lowly draw…" she said with a low voice. It was the kind that sent shivers down the spines of the target. Thankfully I wasn't.

Junpei backed away in fear, bumping into…

"Hey, watch where you're going Junpei…" the irritated voice said.

"Oh! Kanashi!" Junpei rubbed the back of his head as he backed off from him.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me," Kanashi sighed. "What're you guys doing here though?"

I could ask him the same, but I doubt anyone would be able to answer that. Kanashi had a look on him that was saying, 'what is with my luck?' Hm, I can't blame him. Though, I can't help but feel that there is some greater force at work here…

Maybe that's just me being weird though.

"I was just showing Nyx around Paulownia mall," I replied simply.

"Huh. What about you Junpei?" Kanashi asked with a less than amused expression on his face.

"I was just hanging out at the arcade, and I met these guys there," Junpei scowled. Still sore about that draw huh? With a complete noob. That's gotta be some salt rubbed into an already grisly wound.

Kanashi gave me another look. Particularly a more curious one. "He got into a draw with Nyx in Street Fighter IV… when she had no experience with any of those games and was using Juri for the first time," I whispered to him.

He looked to Nyx, then back at me. Lastly was an almost pathetic look for Junpei. "I see…" Kanashi said slowly.

"Minato…" Nyx said slowly, trying to keep the venom from her earlier draw from her voice. At least, that's what I hoped was happening. Might've been condescending again and I wouldn't have known it.

"What's up?" I asked, eyeing her blank expression, although there was a slight frown.

"We have a group," Nyx said simply with a deadpan.

…oh. I didn't think she would remember that. I was almost hoping that she wouldn't anyways.

"Well… I guess I could ask," I sighed.

"Hm?" Kanashi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I kinda promised Nyx that I'd take her to Mandragora if I got a big enough group of people with me," I explained. "Seeing as you're now here she brought it up."

"You mean the karaoke place?" he asked, pointing to the building up the stairs. "But…"

Kanashi wasn't able to finish his sentence as he flinched and quickly changed what I thought he was about to say. "Ah, sure I'll come…?" he smiled nervously. "I can't sing for shit though…"

I looked over at Nyx who now had a strangely satisfied expression on her face. That glare of hers worked even on Kanashi, didn't it? Damn…

"It's okay. If Junpei comes then you won't be alone," I smiled a little.

When I looked over at Junpei he seemed to be strangely compliant to what I said, having a goofy grin on his face that wasn't there before. Next I gazed at Nyx, who had a slight smirk. Double dayum Nyx, your glares are vicious!

"I guess we're all going huh?" Kanashi rubbed the back of his head.

"I suppose so," I nodded. "Come on Junpei, Nyx."

Junpei smiled that silly grin of his while Nyx nodded quietly.

With that, we made our ways to a vacated booth.

"So… who wants to go first?" I asked with a nonchalant tone. Well, I was happy enough to be going with Junpei and Kanashi but I still would've rather had more people like Yukari and Fuuka with me.

"I'll go!" Junpei called with a determined tone.

Kanashi didn't seem to have any objections, and I didn't really care who went first as long as it wasn't me. Nyx… she seemed to have an even bigger smirk than before. Oh man… what did Nyx do to him to get him that excited?

Once Junpei started singing…

I covered my ears. Geez, he's crap at singing…

I could see Nyx stifling some chuckles.

Kanashi… "My ears are bleeding…" he muttered before trying to fathom how someone could possibly sound so bad, and be even worse at singing.

Put it simply, Junpei sounded like he was dying and the scores reflected that. Haha, a twenty out of a hundred.

Nyx smiled triumphantly for a split second, however when I turned to her it was already gone. Sneaky.

"Yeah, yeah rub it in guys!" Junpei said with an indignant tone as he heard Kanashi's comment and saw Nyx's sneer. Me, I'm blank as I ever am.

"Well… that makes me feel a bit better about myself," Kanashi sighed, getting up. "Do they have English songs? I can't exactly sing in Japanese that well."

"Think they do," I answered. That is right, Kanashi only came here recently. Next question would be asking why he has a Japanese name instead of an English one if he's from America.

"Well, that works out," he smiled a little before picking the next song.

Once he started singing… well it wasn't that bad compared to Junpei. Thank Thanatos. I don't know whether I'd be able to stand a Junpei version two.

But in the end he still got something like fifty out of a hundred. Not bad, but not good either.

"Hm, not bad Kanashi," I commented.

"Yeah, but… I'm surprised it even went that well. Music is not my forte," he sighed. Says he who just used a musical pun in his own sentence.

Junpei wailed in distress. "Aw man, noooooo!" he cried. Overdramatic much?

"Hmph. Let me show you fools how to really sing," Nyx smirked at Junpei.

"Okay, this one I haven't heard before…" I muttered.

Kanashi looked on with an interested expression before he sat down.

Nyx took the microphone and then…

Haha! Romeo and Juliet! I had to resist bursting out in laughter, but somehow I managed to stop myself before she started singing. It was mostly her singing that shut me up.

"Whoa…" Kanashi gazed in awe as Nyx was able to sing every note in key and on each beat of the song.

"Aaaaaand more salt," Junpei whimpered as the song finished.

By the end she had a score over ninety. Not bad at all. Hell, it was good.

"You're pretty good," Kanashi nodded at Nyx.

Nyx's smirk disappeared and formed that ever present deadpan expression of hers. "Hm. If you think so," she shrugged.

"Alright, Minato. You're up," Kanashi announced.

Oh yeah. Me.

"Sure, sure…" I sighed, picking up the microphone.

Getting psyched up, I chose the song and off the melody went. "The mystery of death before us…"

…

"So… how'd I do?" I asked absentmindedly as the numbers rolled.

"Whoa dude… You're really, really good…" Kanashi seemed at a loss for words as the numbers called for a hundred.

"Yeah, but Minato's always been good at this kinda thing…" Junpei said. "He can even play the guitar, piano and… what was the last one?"

"The lyre Junpei… The lyre…" I sighed.

Nyx seemed to have an awestruck expression on her face but it slowly faded. Hm…

"You really remind me of someone…" Nyx mumbled.

"Like who?" I asked.

"Like Orpheus," she answered simply.

* * *

AN: Okay, these should be coming out a lot more often since well… my first fic has actually been completed. Expect more updates of DoD! =D

Haha, I doubt anyone would be able to guess what song Minato was singing. It's called The Last Amazing Grays by Sonata Arctica.

Anyways, hope you liked Nyx's powning of Junpei. =P

Please review, I'd appreciate it!


	9. School Days

Not much time had passed before that karaoke session and school starting. I could just tell that this year was going to be stressful indeed… Especially with Nyx around. Well, I guess I'll just have to suck it up and go for it. This is my last year of high school after all. Especially if I somehow fail in persuading Nyx.

Once out of the dorm, I led Nyx in her new school uniform to the station. I have to admit, she does look a little cute in that uniform… I slapped myself mentally. Now was not the time to be thinking about how nice Nyx looked.

"Anyways Nyx…" I began, grabbing her attention. "At school, it is best that you listen to what the teachers say, maybe take some notes. Nearing the end of the semester, we are going to be tested to see if what we learned sticks in our heads."

"…What is a semester?" she asked with a flat tone.

I would cue the facepalm but… "A semester is twenty weeks. It is made up of two terms, which are ten weeks."

"Ah, I see…" she nodded. "Anyways, why do I need to listen in class? Is there anything in particular that is important?"

Well… huh. I haven't thought about that. I honestly don't know why we need to listen in class and get good grades and everything… oh right. After a long pause I replied, "If you don't listen, you're more at risk to earning yourself a punishment from the teachers. Which could mean things like, staying back after school and whatever… it's just in your best interest if you want more time on your hands."

"I suppose that works," Nyx nodded to herself. "I would rather have more time on my hands to see if you have a convincing argument yet. I am trying to be as patient as possible. I am still holding you to that promise."

And back to smack me in the face again. Love and friendship is hard to define and show. She really needs to be in a friendship for herself to see the point; see the happiness between friends, lovers or… whatever kind of relationship that I might be missing. Like I did when I hung out with all of my friends.

"Yeah. I know," I sighed.

"Good thing is I heard from Yukari that Mitsuru's pulled a few strings so that you'll end up in most of the classes that I have. Because of that, I'll be able to give you some advice about school and stuff," I explained. "Don't want ya getting into some trouble or whatever, yeah?"

Nyx looked back at me with a raised eyebrow before nodding slowly. "That would be detrimental to our already strained position," she replied sagely.

"Yeah," I replied.

By now, Nyx grew familiar to the old, yet impressive view of the ocean and the island. However, she kept on looking out the window.

Minato looked around, finding a majority of students staring at the two of them. If not him, then it was just going to be Nyx. Especially with how pretty she was. He knew that her beauty was very attractive…

Well, first day of school and she's already building herself a following. For some reason, I couldn't really help but feel that this was going to bite someone back, right in the ass if the situation wasn't handled properly. Bad thing is? Nyx doesn't know how to handle a fan club. I never thought that I would have to teach her that kind of thing either.

"Nyx, I think we might have to be doubly careful. You seem to be drawing a lot of attention to yourself," I warned her quietly.

"Is that so? What about it?" she asked.

"Well… for your sake I'd rather that you don't get swarmed by fan boys every day for the rest of the year," I sighed, trying to suppress my shivers that came about as I started thinking about my fan girls. Damned crazy women made a shrine of me somewhere, I swear.

"…I'll crush them with one strike," Nyx replied simply with a resolute tone.

…I can only guess where that statement is going to land her later. But then again, that is partly why I'm here. My life, ladies and gentlemen.

"Just be careful Nyx," I sighed.

After finally being able to file out of the train station and get ourselves over to the school, I was stopped by Yukari and Junpei who seemed to be able to come here a bit earlier. Well, I suppose that they were able to get ahead since they didn't have to help Nyx with preparations as much.

"Hey guys," I smiled slightly.

"Yo man, and hey Nyx-chan," Junpei greeted cordially.

Nyx merely sighed and rubbed her temple at that greeting before stiffly replying, "Hello Junpei. Yukari." Junpei had kept on calling her that after a while, so now she just tried to ignore it.

"Hey Nyx. You ready for school?" Yukari asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be…" Nyx sighed.

"I'll see ya guys later then?" I asked.

"Yup! Maybe we'll end up in the same homeroom again if we're lucky," Yukari giggled before skipping off towards the school.

Junpei merely smiled that trademark grin of his before walking ahead with Yukari. I wonder when Fuuka and Aigis are going to get here…

"Oh hello Minato-kun! Hello Nyx-san," I heard a small voice say. Fuuka.

"Hey Fuuka. Ready for the year?" I asked with a slight smile.

"I think so. I can only hope that things will become interesting later on," she replied. "How about you Nyx?"

"Well, I have not actually had any experience with this kind of activity before, but I have a feeling it will be interesting," Nyx said. You say interesting, but you still have a blank expression, almost like mine.

"Mmhm, I hope so too," Fuuka agreed. "Well, I have to get going. I'll see you both a bit later then!"

"You too Fuuka," I replied before turning to Nyx.

"We should get going inside," I said. Nyx nodded and followed along with me while I checked the bulletin board for the class assignments.

…why are we all in the same homeroom? Mysterious.

"Well Nyx, I should take you to the faculty office. Maybe you can meet our homeroom teacher," I smiled.

"Alright," Nyx sighed.

I could practically feel the stares that were being shot at the two of us as we walked. Some of them hateful, some of them sickeningly adoring, and the last… curious. Curious looks. I somehow became one of the most popular students in Gekkoukan, and not to mention the new transfer student that was Nyx. It was particularly eye catching since I didn't really go after anyone and wasn't looking for a girlfriend last year, as stupid as that may sound. Well… let the rumours start.

"Here it is," I told Nyx, indicating the sign atop the sliding doors that read 'faculty office.' "Okay… when you go in there, best to go along with whatever backstory that Mitsuru's cooked up so it doesn't get so suspicious or anything. Also, remember to listen and go along with what the teacher says, yeah?"

"Yes, yes…" Nyx nodded with an unamused expression. Without delay, she entered the office.

Hm… I hope nothing happens.

I walked off to join up with a certain android that I spotted.

"Hey Aigis," I said cordially.

"Oh, Minato-kun…" Aigis turned to face me. "Hello. Has everything been okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I've been fine. Just… showing Nyx around, hoping she doesn't get into trouble and stuff," I replied, rubbing the back of my head.

"I see," Aigis said stiffly.

"You know Aigis, I've been wondering something," I began, Aigis' face having a curious expression. "How come you're so… well, jumpy around Nyx? It's not like she's going to hurt anyone…"

Aigis once curious face turned into a slight frown, but she stayed silent for a while. Probably cogitating over her answer. "Well… I'm just worried about you, Minato-kun. You don't know what she could do, she could bring the Fall with a snap of her fingers…"

"…I see. Is there anything else besides that? You know that I can handle myself," I looked on with a stern expression.

A lengthy silence permeated between the two of us as she searched for her answer. "I know that you can, I'm just… I'm scared."

Scared? Aigis, scared?

"I wanted to keep my promise to you but… I don't know if I have the strength necessary to protect you… and you know how I feel about you…" Aigis whispered.

That promise… huh? I smiled inwardly. I don't believe that Aigis has any inherent hate for Nyx, but she definitely still doesn't like her, I think I can be sure of that. And she'd do anything to protect me and the sacrifice that I made. Well, once made. Hm… geez. I sighed.

Not only that, but after the time that Aigis showed me to her room, she finally admitted something to me that became one of my best kept secrets.

"Aigis, you don't need to worry about that. If I can show what humanity is all about, then none of us will have anything to worry about, right?" I smiled slightly.

"…I suppose so," Aigis trailed off.

"Anyways, we better get to the auditorium. Wouldn't want to be late for our dear principal's speech now, would we?" I chuckled.

"Yes," Aigis smiled a little.

**AN: Well, the ending was a lot heavier than the rest of the chapter, but then again there wasn't as much humour in this one anyways. That being said, yes, all of the girls that you can romance in the game do still like Minato. But just imagine this time that Minato was curt enough to say that he wasn't looking for a girlfriend. Wonder how he got out of THAT unscathed? XD**

**Anyways, yes, Aigis does still love Minato, and this will probably be the only romance that will play a part in this story aside from another that I need.**

**Kanashi's gonna show up again in the next chapter. This was mostly introductions to the school.**

**Afan: Kanashi? That's just a small part of his personality. He'll get better later, I haven't quite polished his personality yet, and the meat of it is being saved for another chapter.**

**OrpheusBladedge: Sonata Arctica is freaking awesome. I might make more references later. Hehehe. Thanks!**

**Protogonus: Aw, thanks! Maybe more references will come up later!**

**Nights: I think we all know that Nyx is just epic sometimes. She takes no shit and snaps back with twice the power. Nyx is also a pretty controlling character, subtle, or not. That is part of her god complex. (well, she IS a god.) That... that would be a huge surprise. But I know nothing about God Of War except for the fact Kratos and the gods are in it.**

**By the way, the title is a reference to an anime series I heard about. Funnily enough, the main character is named Makoto AND he gets all the girls. Except Minato doesn't get stabbed in the end after gathering his harem. XD**

**Anyways, hope you like the chapter! Please review, I'd appreciate it! Sayoonara for now!**


	10. Introductions

Once in the hall, the drawling speech of the principal commenced. Not only was the assembly slow, but what the principal said was really the same as the words he said last year. Goddammit, I thought he actually had something useful to say. Anyways…

I managed to find my way to Nyx's spot in the crowd. She was… not amused to say the least. Nyx looked incredibly bored, and even looked like she was about to fall asleep. Couple the fact that she was pretty tired in the day, and that the principal was always boring as heck, she looked just about to drift off.

Nyx gave out a heavy sigh before her head tilted forward. I looked, and it appeared she wasn't sleeping, but she was dangerously close to. Oh man, I can't exactly blame her. I looked over to her side and… Kanashi?

He was… well, he was asleep to say the least. He fell asleep quicker than Junpei did. That is an achievement there. I wouldn't really say achievement, but still… that's remarkable. I looked over to my shoulder and Aigis… She was asleep. On my shoulder. What is it with everyone and falling asleep around me!? I'm serious now!

At least Fuuka and Yukari are still awake… I sighed. Me, the sleepyhead, isn't falling asleep for once. Also remarkable.

Anyways, after that boring speech was out of the way, I managed to drag Nyx out of her almost asleep state and lead her to her classroom. Turned out to be mine. Awesome. Turned out that Yukari, Aigis, Fuuka, Junpei and Kanashi were all in the same class as me. Wonderful. I'm not being sarcastic, I swear.

Kanashi I mostly left alone and just dragged along to the classroom until someone managed to wake him up. It resulted… in a rage. "Why'd you do that!?" he yelled, shaking Kenji back and forth.

"I didn't mean any harm, I swear!" Kenji cowered in fear.

"Ah, let me handle this Kenji… you should probably go to your seat man," I sighed, patting him on the back.

"Thanks Minato, you're a lifesaver!" he grinned as he patted me on the shoulder and sped off towards his seat.

"Kanashi, class," I sighed.

"Oh…" he deadpanned before walking off with an irritated expression. "Freaking…" he muttered, but I couldn't hear the rest of what he was saying.

I think I should ask him about him getting angry when he's woken up. Besides the fact that he doesn't seem to get a lot of sleep, it still doesn't really explain why he's so jumpy when you wake him.

Okay, welp, seats taken and voila. I somehow have all of my friends that are in my grade in the same classroom.

…What kind of shenanigan is this?

Miss Toriumi entered the classroom with a pile of papers and… cake. I should've known. It was one of those strawberry shortcake ones too. Now I'm getting hungry.

"Class, I'd like to introduce to you, two new transfer students. Can you please stand up?" Toriumi-sensei said as she looked around the classroom.

Nyx wearily stood up and made her way to the front of the classroom with a bit of a yawn, while Kanashi got up with a… it was an annoyed expression to say the least. Lack of sleep can certainly give one a temperament.

"Both of you are sleepy?" Toriumi-sensei said, blinking. "Did either of you get sleep?"

"I never get any sleep," Kanashi grumbled.

"No matter how much I sleep, I will never be able to look awake during the day time," Nyx sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"I see…" Toriumi-sensei said slowly. "Anyways, can you two introduce yourselves?"

"Uh yeah, I'm Kanashi Baru," he said with a tired tone.

"I am Nyx Shinu," Nyx said with a deadpan.

"Well, there you have it. You two can sit down now," Toriumi-sensei nodded.

Looking around while Nyx introduced herself, I noticed that pretty much every guy was staring at her with awe. If Nyx had not been told not to shoot her mouth off before by me, she probably would have said something along the lines of a snarky remark.

"Also, can you all stop staring at me? Don't you know that it is rude to stare at someone?" Nyx snapped.

…never mind.

One strike. The guys flinched and cowered in fear as she glared at each one of them before sitting down. Smooth Nyx. Just… just smooth.

Toriumi-sensei rubbed her temples before starting to do some housekeeping stuff and whatever. Yay.

I looked over at Nyx, and she seemed to be paying some attention to what Toriumi-sensei was saying, but she also had her attention on the view outside of the window. Well, I couldn't exactly blame her. It was pretty nice, the view outside.

Kanashi settled for resting his head on top of his folded arms. Whether he was planning to fall asleep or not was kind of a mystery to me.

Once the bells called for lunch, it seemed that my huge group of friends had gathered all at the rooftops to catch up and whatever. Geez, it was a bit strange seeing each and every one of my friends in the same place. Makes me realize how many people I've been able to bond with in the past year.

I managed to drag Kanashi and Nyx up there too. Mostly by telling Kanashi that the rooftop was a better place to take a nap, and Nyx… well she tries to follow me everywhere anyways. Because of that, the prying eyes of her slowly building fan club were more diverted. Thankfully. If there were more, she probably could've raised a ruckus with her cold personality.

"So, how was everyone's holidays?" Junpei grinned at each of my friends.

"Well, I've been studying to become a personal trainer actually. It's been pretty fun," Yuko started.

"I've just been… hanging around at home and avoiding training because of my knee and all," Kazushi said, rubbing the back of his head. He's still wearing the freaking tracksuit and everything though. Weird.

"Um… I've just been going to Book-on and Bookworms mostly, since they have some good manga collections that I wanted to read," Chihiro smiled slightly. Well, looks like her phobia of men is definitely gone if she's able to talk to all of us normally.

"Oh, what series?" Junpei asked with a laugh.

"I think it was… Hayate the Combat Butler," Chihiro replied. "It's pretty funny," she smiled.

"Oh, I see. It is pretty funny so I can see where you're coming from," Junpei nodded sagely. "I've been going to the arcade mostly," he grinned. And getting your butt kicked by Nyx, Junpei. Please remember that.

"Um well, Fuuka, Aigis and I have been hanging out mostly, so that's that…" Yukari shrugged, though that smile of hers was still present.

Aigis said, "I have been going to the shrine these days. It's very beautiful there."

"Oh, so that's where you've been going, Aigis-chan?" Fuuka asked. "That's nice. The shrine is very beautiful," she smiled. "I've been studying to become a teacher… It's hard work, but I think I can do it."

"Well, I've been going around the city, mostly eating ramen and stuff," Kenji shrugged.

"Is that all you ever eat Kenji? You know that I told you, you can't eat ramen all the time! You need a balanced diet!" Rio scolded him. Kenji rubbed the back of his head.

"S-Sorry Rio-chan…" Kenji laughed nervously. Aw, looks like Rio finally got with Kenji. That's good. She always did like him, so I'm glad that Kenji finally came to his senses.

"Well, you can have it once in a while Kenji-kun," Rio sighed. Not only that, but she worried about him a lot, so it was something that was probably best for both of them. Kenji wouldn't be a milf hunter, and Rio would finally get her wish. "Well, I've just been… spending time with Kenji-kun, and playing tennis, so that's it," Rio smiled.

"What about you Kanashi-san? Won't you tell us about yourself?" Fuuka asked with a soft voice and a smile to match.

Kanashi sighed before shooting some looks at Junpei and me. Well, kinda thought he would if on the subject of his holidays. "Well, I'm from America, and I just moved here. I came here some few days ago in the holidays and I found a place around here to stay…" he said simply. "While I was looking around the mall, I ran into Minato, Junpei and Nyx and we've kinda just been hanging around ever since."

"Is that so?" Chihiro asked. "You seem to have an odd amount of luck, Kanashi-kun. To have run into all of them on the same day… It's pretty strange…"

"You're telling me, I kinda noticed…" Kanashi sighed before yawning a little. "Um… besides that, I don't get a lot of sleep…" Hah. Kinda noticed. "So, I have a bad case of getting sleep paralysis a lot…" he chuckled.

"Really? That's not cool man… you sure you don't want to get that checked out?" Kenji asked.

"Eh, I've kinda gotten used to it," Kanashi shrugged. "Oh yeah, there was this one time when I had that, and I think I saw this demonic devil-looking thing sitting on the end of my bed. And then there was this other time, when I think I might've seen the Grudge in the corner of my room and…"

"Um… Kanashi?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"You're kinda freaking everyone out," I said bluntly, indicating Yukari, Chihiro and Yuko.

"Uh… Oh. Maybe another time…" Kanashi sighed. "Well, for a last note, I'm kinda fascinated with ghost stories and campfire stories, that kinda thing."

Huh. Never would've guessed. He did look pretty happy while he was telling us about what he saw. Wow.

"Anyways…" Yuko started. "What have you been doing Minato? And what about what happened on Graduation Day? Are you okay?"

The members of SEES in the group started to looked uncomfortable, but… Better reassure her. "Um yeah… I'm alright. I don't know specifically what happened, but I doubt it's going to happen again," I smiled. Lies, of course you know what happened you ning nong.

"Anyways, in the holidays, I met Nyx… and she was new here, so I decided to show her around. Turns out she was also a new dorm member, so that was something," I rubbed the back of my head as I glanced at Nyx.

"Oh yeah! Why don't you tell us about yourself as well, Nyx-san?" Kazushi asked.

"Hm? Oh. Well, I'm a transfer student as well, from Europe," Nyx started calmly. Nice cover Nyx. That would also explain why her name is so unique. "I came here recently, and Minato was nice enough to show me to the dorm where I was staying," she said. I can't tell whether what she said was a lie or not.

"Well, I don't have any particular interests, but I am partial to Greek mythology," Nyx finished.

Well done Nyx. Well done. I'd applaud her for a job well done, but that would be awkward.

"Wow, you have to tell us about Europe sometime, Nyx-san," Chihiro smiled.

"If you insist," Nyx nodded. "There is one last thing, however."

…What are you going to say?

"I don't appreciate all the awestruck stares that are being directed at me. Staring is rude," she growled.

As if on cue, a group of male students flinched and moved away from the rooftop.

Oh.

I should've known.

**AN: Aaaand, I finished this a day after Velvet Reverse. AWESOME! Hope you like the chapter though! It was just introductions, but Minato having so many friends will affect Nyx, sooner or later. Hehe.**

**I'm glad this fic is getting so much support though! For my third fic, I never would've imagined it having this much support! I really appreciate it!**

**If you would be so kind, please review! They give me motivation and fuel! XD**

**Sayoonara for now!**

**PS: During the month of November, expect updates to be infrequent. I am going to be participating in a writing competition that goes all month long, so yeah… (Nanowrimo is happening if you know what that is… :P)**

**Nights: Haha, well, you see… she doesn't like people staring at her. It reminds me of a fic called Second Chance. That was a good fanfic… XD**

**ALL my chapters are short, remember? :P  
****Yeah, an annoyed Nyx is not a good Nyx.**

**Thanks Nights!**

**Protogonus: Hah, thanks! I appreciate it!**

**Anakin: Well, almost NO-ONE stands a chance against Nyx. That's how she is. Stupei is just weaker than usual. He must a sub weakness to Mudo spells I guess. XD**

**Well you saw… Nyx so far isn't interested, but she isn't bored either. Kinda neutral. I know about that, but considering how much charm the guy has, doesn't ANYONE think that Minato would as easily be able to say that he doesn't want a relationship if he wanted to? Eh, just me being nit-picky.**

**Anon: Really? Well, each chapter is short, but I hope you like each of them anyways! **


	11. Insecurities

After making my way out of the school, I headed towards the other end of the island. There wasn't any kind of train station back there, no doubt about that. But there was something else instead of it. Admittedly, it was a side of the island I liked more.

Putting my bag down, I sat on the edge of a block of concrete; the ground. Just below me were those strange spikey jack-like things for which I didn't have a real name and didn't understand their purpose.

…I really need to find out what they are.

The small waves rolled into the rock, back and forth, back and forth, like a pendulum that wouldn't stop moving. The ocean didn't stop moving for anyone or anything, not even a supernatural occurrence like the Dark Hour. Even if watching that was far more unpleasant than watching in the day time.

Mostly because it basically looked like a whole lot of blood crawling up against the concrete and staining it like plaque did a tooth… Stop thinking about that. That's just horrifying and creepy.

I'm so glad the Dark Hour's over.

The setting sun cast a bright, amber light over the surface of the normally blue water, dancing and jumping among the ripples, dips and rises of the constantly moving creases in the unpredictable floor that was the ocean. It really did look even better when you were up close and personal with the ocean.

That must be why I like beaches a whole lot. When you're on a beach, you become close to the atmosphere's inviting embrace. The water, the sand, the stone, the sun and the wind. All these elements made up the touch and hold of what could be called a beach, and the best part had to be the water. The shimmering curtain of water that was the ocean…

But then again… it was only like that when you were alone. And when you were alone, it isn't nearly as fun to be at a beach. With a group of friends, it was even better.

Speaking of friends…

Nyx was taken back to the dorm by Yukari, Fuuka and a begrudging Aigis. I mean, Aigis' dislike definitely lessened, but she definitely still didn't like being around Nyx whatsoever. Considering what I had to do to be able to keep the world from ending, I could understand where she was coming from.

That aside, this first day was pretty stressful. With Kanashi and Nyx around, who knew how this year was going to turn out? Next thing I know I'll have terrorists to deal with a love struck admirer to deal with. Actually, I'm pretty sure that love-struck admirers are a given occurrence with how attractive Nyx was and how popular I am already.

Well, that aside, maybe Nyx should take up the profession of sniping. I'm sure she'd be awesome at it, considering how good her eyesight is. Nyx, professional sniper.

Someone should make a demotivational meme about that. That would be funny.

Welp…

I find it kinda funny. For some reason Kanashi and Nyx are able to get along almost perfectly as opposed to every other interaction that either person had with another person. Of course, I was of the Fool arcana so I could get along swimmingly with just about anyone. I wonder why they seemed never to get into a disagreement with each other.

The blots of colour thrown across the sky were slowly turning from orange to a mixture of deeper red and violet. The music playing in my ear was strangely fitting enough as the evening pursued the sunlight.

I didn't even know why, especially since it had nothing to do with night time at all. Well…

I wonder what I'm going to do with the rest of my life if I somehow do my job for Nyx and convince her that it isn't a good idea to destroy the world. What a question. A question to which I had no answer. Honestly, now that I was here it felt even more like my presence in this world was needed less and less. Maybe it would've been a better idea just to keep Nyx sealed and deal with her shenanigans rather than deal with a world that seems less familiar to me by the moment.

I mean, after all this time I haven't found anyone that I truly liked any more than a friend. Hmph, no wonder Junpei says I should get a girlfriend. Even I'm starting to agree with him, and he's Junpei of all people.

…realize how emo this is starting to sound you ning nong.

With that last bit of self-berating, I slowly stood up and started my walk towards the station. I can't believe I spent so long here at the pier. I guess time flies when you're concentrating and thinking really hard.

By the time I had gotten back to the dorm it was already really dark, and all the lights that could appear in the night sky were finally turned on. That is, the moon and stars.

When I entered the dorm I found that only Nyx was in the lobby. And… she's… what is she doing?

I walked over to the couch and bent down, trying to see what she was doing. Oh Thanatos…

She's asleep. But why here of all places?

…What should I do? I don't really want her to react really badly or anything of the sort. That wouldn't be good.

As I was debating what I should do, this happened.

"Minato, what are you doing here?" she looked at me blankly. Her eyes were barely open, and it was one of those paralysing, stern looks. The one that she used for driving away fan boys actually.

"I was wondering why you were still sitting here," I answered just as plainly.

Nyx sighed before saying with an irritated tone, "I was waiting for you to come back. I'd have you know that I'm not seeing the point of going to school at all. It's insufferably boring, and most of all…"

Huh?

"If your attempt to get me to socialize with your friends was some pathetic try to get me to see the point of friendship, let us just say that it has failed miserably," she glared at me.

…well now, that wasn't what I was expecting. But I wasn't expecting her to see the point of friend—

Wait. She knows what friendship is now.

"Maybe. But we still have a year," I looked at her seriously. In fact, the fact that she's starting to grasp what friendship even is amazing. I didn't think she could get that so quickly. That's probably just the first step on a long journey for her.

"I suppose," Nyx sighed heavily. She did not seem like she was looking forward to it. "I am beginning to feel a need for some proper sleep. You better get some rest Minato. You have a long number of days and convincing situations to persuade me from now on," she said nonchalantly as she climbed the stairs.

…Even if she's starting to understand, she's just as harsh. Oh well. It's a step in the right direction at least, and that's what matters now.

…I need some sleep.

* * *

A number of days passed until the end of the week came and our free day came. So far, progress has been slow and nearly negligible right now. Well, slow and steady wins the race I suppose. I still have a lot of weeks to try now. Of course, next thing I know, I'm gonna be at the end of the year with no more progress made. Wonderful thoughts Arisato. Wonderful. You're so optimistic.

Accursed sun is giving me negative thoughts. There's a reason why I'm calmer at night time. It's much cooler, and not as bright.

I came down to the lobby rubbing my eyes of the sleep that had settled on my lids. Nyx seemed to be in much the same state, but much sleepier looking. But then again, I should be used to this by now. After all, she's like this all the time. She was more of the night owl for a good reason.

However, there was something decidedly different about this one time that I had come down kinda late.

"Come on, come on!" Junpei cheered.

Hack, slash, smash, what the heck are they playing?

"Be patient man," Kanashi chuckled a little before blood splattered everywhere.

Oh. God of War. Okay then.

"Awesome man! Hi-five?" Junpei grinned at Kanashi.

"Sure," he smiled slightly before returning the gesture. Since when did Kanashi get so buddy-buddy with Junpei? Okay, brotherly bonding over video games works I guess. "Victory goes to us two against Thanatos," he said.

Nyx seemed roused from her sleep once she heard 'Thanatos' and she glared at both of the guys with the iciest of glares. Junpei flinched under her gaze while Kanashi merely tried to ignore it. Didn't work so well.

"Thanatos is no weakling," Nyx growled.

Kanashi backed off and raised his arms in innocence before sighing. "Come on, it's just a video game, Nyx," he shrugged.

Glaaaaaare.

"…Never mind," he said quickly before sitting back down. Yeah, unfortunately no-one is able to resist backing down to Nyx's sniper-like gaze. Not even me, and I'm supposed to be immune to Fear and Shock. Quite a powerful gaze.

Junpei laughed awkwardly before he turned around and it seemed he finally noticed me. "Oh hey Minato! Wanna play God of War?" he asked.

"You're asking me when I just woke up and haven't even had breakfast yet?" I laughed a little.

"Well, breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day," Kanashi mused out loud.

"Yup," I replied simply.

"Oh my god, a fu-!" I heard Kanashi shout.

I turned around holding a can of natto and… Koromaru.

Junpei turned to him with a curious expression. Or maybe it was one of those nosy looks. Either way, he was still curious.

"S-Sorry it's just that… I don't like dogs…" Kanashi answered the unsaid question with clenched teeth.

"Oh. Koromaru doesn't bite if that's what you're worried about," I say reassuringly. "He's amazingly smart for a dog," I continue.

Kanashi gave me a largely sceptical expression before bending down, trembling slightly. "U-Uh… h-hi?" he said nervously, holding his hand out ever so slightly. I wonder if Kanashi's scared of dogs because of an experience from before? That would be something worth getting over.

Koromaru barked happily, his tail wagging back and forth in a blur, almost like a helicopter blade. He raised his paw and Kanashi near instinctively pulled his hand back.

Koromaru whined before sitting with a sad expression. "You're really persuasive, you know that?" Kanashi mumbled before holding his hand out again.

Koromaru looked up again and looked at Kanashi happily before placing his paw on Kanashi's palm. He blinked before moving his hand up and down, finally getting into a rhythm as he grew used to it.

"…I guess not all dogs are bad," he said with a strained tone and a broken smile.

**AN: Aaaand update number two! This one was more introspective, but I hope people like it nonetheless! Yeah, Kanashi actually has a fear. A fear of dogs. He has another but that's for later. It's kinda obvious why, since Minato hinted at it, but it's for something later that'll become pretty important. XD**

**Anyways, please review! I'd appreciate it!**

**Anakin: I was so into it, I made one myself. I need more of a life than that… XD jks.**

**The one strike comes from Yukiko during the event where you went around with the omelette after you got to Mitsuo.**

**I wouldn't either, and I'm the writer!**

**Jhellou: She's a sniper. =P**

**Guest: Maybe, but he's veeeery important. Yeah, I kinda got some of her attitude from the video actually. That was some funny shit right there.**

**Nights: Probably. And if that's horrifying, then what ELSE has he seen? Now that's a mystery, ne? XD**

**We'll just have to see, right? =P**

**Thanks Nights!**

**RomanceDagger: Yup! I remember it the most as well! That's why I used it!**

**Yoshikunitsu: Haha, thank you! I'm glad to know that! I'll do my best, even with all my assignments and a competition coming up, I'm not gonna give up on updating this! =D**


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